The invention resides in a device for inserting a surgical suture needle into a suture apparatus particularly an endoscopic suture apparatus.
DE 41 24 383 and DE 44 23 881 disclose surgical suture apparatus, wherein a needle installed in the apparatus is moved back and forth between two jaws. However, the insertion of the usually very small needle, which is often only 10 mm long, is problematic. Insertion of the needle by hand is unsafe and, furthermore, may result in injuries.
Manufacturers of medical-technical products often distribute, together with suturing apparatus, magazines, which contain surgical needles that are already threaded and from which the needles together with the thread can be removed one after the other. The problem of attaching the magazine to the suturing apparatus in such a way that the needles can be reliably removed and transferred however is not solved satisfactorily, so that the procedure may easily fail.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a device, which facilitates the insertion of surgical needles taken from a magazine into a surgical suturing apparatus, which is used for endoscopic surgery. The device is to safely guide the needle into a proper position for installation in the suturing apparatus.